Advice
by soundcheck123
Summary: Teddy goes to Ginny in desperate need of some dating advice. Implied Teddy/Victoire and some minor Harry/Ginny.


Ginny was almost done with the dishes when a loud _crack _ startled her, causing one of the plates to crash loudly on the floor of the kitchen. She turned around to find a tall boy with bright turquoise hair standing in front of her, looking as though he'd just been caught red-handed.

"Teddy, Merlin, you gave me a fright!"

The boy flicked his wand, fixing the broken plate and smiling nonchalantly.

"Well, good thing I'm of age now."

"Which means you can clean up after the mess you cause by Apparating unannounced into my kitchen, right?" She teased, smirking.

"Exactly, why else would I have spent seven years at Hogwarts?" He shot back sarcastically as he took a seat.

"I don't know, maybe the Gryffindor Quidditch team's fangirls?"

Teddy raised his eyebrows as if he'd just been reminded of that and smiled cheekily.

"Yes, there was that, too." He looked around the kitchen. "Where is everybody?"

"Harry is tucking them in. Tomorrow's September 1st." Ginny explained, offering him a cup of tea.

"Oh, right." Ted tried to make it sound as though he'd just been reminded of that too, but Ginny knew him all too well. She squinted at him, but decided not to push it.

"So what brings you here?" She asked, joining him at the table.

"Nothing, really, it's just been a while, I thought I'd come and say hi."

"It _has _been a while, indeed, mister. What have you been up to? How's the internship going?

"It's going well."

"That's it? 'Well'?"

Teddy wasn't exactly known for saving up on words.

"It's nothing much. I go in, there's a curse, they teach me how to break it. Sometimes I can do it, sometimes I can't. End of story."

"Right." Ginny glanced at him, puzzled. She didn't say anything, almost as if she expected him to make the next move. 18 years of being Ted's "adoptive godmother", as they put it, had taught her how to handle him. When it came to serious conversations (which she sensed this was), he had to start them, otherwise he'd change the subject and wait forever to bring it up again.

Ted scratched his head, recognizing Ginny's strategy: the quiet game. She wasn't going to let him stall, so he sighed and started talking.

"You see, I was thinking, one of these days - it just strolled into my mind, you know, I don't know exactly why," he looked up to find Ginny's hard glare, which meant 'get to the point', "how did you and Uncle Harry start dating?"

Ginny was taken aback by this. She thought he had screwed up at the internship, maybe eloped, maybe knocked someone up - but _this_? This didn't make any sense.

"Why do you ask?"

"Just... Nothing. Could you tell me?"

Ginny raised her eyebrows, at a loss for words.

"There's not much to tell, Teddy, not really. We grew closer sometime around my fifth year, kissed after a Quidditch match - which Harry had to sit out, obviously, because he'd gotten into trouble yet again," she chuckled at the memory, "and the rest is history."

Teddy didn't seem all too pleased with the reply.

"The war did put a pause to it, Harry had to go do what he had to do, and he couldn't bring me along, but once he came back, it was just... Obvious. We didn't even talk about it, I crawled into his bed after that last battle and the next day, we were... Together again." Ginny wasn't even looking at him anymore, lost in thought.

Teddy cleared his throat.

"Well, that's... Too much information. Thanks for the visual, though."

Ginny focused her gaze back at him, the tone of her skin almost matching that of her hair.

"That's _not_ what I meant! We only slept, for crying out loud!"

"Sure," Teddy replied in a tone that indicated he didn't believe it for even a second," but that's not the answer I was looking for." Noticing Ginny's face grew red again, this time with what could only be anger, he rushed to mend his harsh response. "I mean, it's adorable, really romantic and stuff. But let's go back to your fifth year." He took a deep breath in preparation. "You used to have a crush on Uncle Harry when you were younger, right? And you were dating some other guy before, weren't you? And how did Uncle Ron take it? Did he punch Uncle Harry or something?"

"Ron was such a git about it at first," she chuckled again, "but he wasn't angry, not at all. If anything, he was pleased with it. If he was going to _let_ someone date his baby sister - as if he had a say in it -, may as well be his best mate, right? He knew Harry would respect me and wouldn't hurt me, at least not intentionally."

Ted looked a little more pleased.

"Was Uncle Harry, erm," he looked for a way to phrase it properly, "popular with the ladies in school? I mean, would Uncle Ron ever have reason to think he was just, I don't know, having some fun with you?"

Ginny furrowed her eyebrows at this, unsure of where this was going.

"Well, he was popular with girls, I suppose, because he was famous, but he was always too busy escaping death to date. He had one girlfriend before me, that I know of."

"Okay." Teddy nodded, keeping his face emotionless. "And what about your ex-boyfriend? Had you just broken up with him? Was it awkward?"

"A little, I guess... But when it's meant to be, it just is, right? I think Dean understood it, as time went by."

Teddy stared at the table, processing the information.

"What about you childhood crush?"

"What about it?"

"Do you think it was a contributing factor?"

Ginny didn't answer right away, pondering as she took a sip of tea - she had never given this much thought.

"I suppose it was." She shook her head, reassessing her answer. "No, not really. If Harry had turned out to be an arse, I wouldn't snog him just to please 11-year-old Ginny."

"Thanks for the visual, _again_."

"Oh, grow up, you." They both laughed. "But, really, Ted, why are you asking me all of this? Now? And me, not Harry."

"Well, it's just..." He scratched his head again, and his hair turned dark brown, which was its actual color. Ginny knew what this meant: Teddy was too focused on something specific. He covered his face and grumbled. "There's this girl."

"Oh," Ginny smirked at this, amused and slightly disappointed at herself for not noticing sooner, "I see. Special girl, this one?"

"Yes," Teddy replied, "very special indeed."

Ginny started putting the pieces of the puzzle together, raising her fingers clue by clue to keep track.

"So, this girl has recently broken up with someone, is not directly related to you but you're close," Ted nodded in agreement, "and used to have a childhood crush on you?"

"Yes, all of the above."

Ginny stared at him knowingly, a dangerous spark in her eyes.

Teddy gulped and tried his very best to keep a straight face. Ginny continued to stare at him, waiting for him to crack.

Ten seconds (which felt more like ten years) went by and he didn't, and she was both proud and mad at him for getting so good at playing the stare game with her.

"You know, if I ever need a Secret Keeper, you'll be the chosen one." She smirked, and he laughed nervously.

Ginny sighed before continuing.

"Ted, I understand why those things would be going through your mind right now, but in the end, it all comes down to where you two are at this point in life. It's not about who you dated before, how you ever felt about each other or what those around you will think. If you like her, then go for it. If she likes you back, great."

"What if she doesn't like me back?" Teddy blurted out, unable to hide the nervousness in his voice. "I'd lose not one, but two friends, and piss a lot of people off. A _lot_."

Ginny could tell this is what the entire conversation was about.

"This is why I asked you, and not Uncle Harry," he went on. This was the Ted she knew, hot tempered and unable to keep his thoughts to himself. "You were that girl once, and you liked the guy back. What did he do to make you like him? And not just be like a brother or a creep who came onto you?"

Ginny crossed her arms, smiling.

"This isn't funny, you know? I've been miserable."

"I can see. We should've talked about this sooner." She sat down on the chair right next to his and put her arm around him, patting his hair with her free hand, like she did when he was upset when he was just a boy. He leaned into her, resting his head on her shoulder. "Merlin, you're so tall, I can hardly reach you." He laughed, straightening himself up.

"Ted, it's a risk you have to take. Is she worth the risk?"

He pondered before replying, taking a sip from his tea cup.

"I'd rather have her in my life as a friend than not have her at all."

Ginny raised her eyebrows, letting go of him.

"You must _really_ like her, then."

"I do," he nodded to emphasize his point, "she's a million times better than all those fangirls combined."

"Well, in that case, Lupin, she must be worth the risk."

He stared at her, the gears moving in his head.

"I can't make the move for you, Teddy. It's your decision."

"I know." He started getting up. "I should go, it's late. Just going to say hi to Uncle Harry before I leave."

"Yes, he was just asking about you today. Will you come to King's Cross tomorrow, see the kids off?"

"Erm, I don't know. We'll see." He hugged her goodbye. "Thanks for the advice, Gin."

"Anytime." He made his way to the door, but was interrupted by Ginny. "Oh, and Teddy? For what it's worth," she added casually, walking to the sink with tea cups in hand, "she likes you back."

Teddy's eyes almost popped out of his head.

"And you _should_ come to King's Cross tomorrow. This isn't something you should say over a letter. Nor something that can wait until Christmas Break."

He wondered if she had read his mind. She wouldn't, would she?

"How...?"

"Do not underestimate my abilities, Lupin. And you said it yourself, I was that girl once, remember?"

**XXX**

The next day, when James came rushing towards them shouting about Teddy and Victoire, Ginny didn't even try to hide her smile.

**XXX**

**AN: **I love reading Teddy/Harry stories, but recently came across a lovely drabble by MyDearProfessorMcGonagall which featured some great Ginny/Teddy interaction and realized these two would probably get on really well (if they were, you know, real). Then this idea just popped up in my head. Alas, here we are. Let me know what you think!


End file.
